I use the Wilson and Head versions of the bumper tape. I don't notice a difference in weight. Its a pretty thick tape, much thicker than electrical tape. It works well and you can see the rips in the tape that may have been scratches on the bumper.

if your worried about the weight of it, think about the fact that a whole overgrip like the yonex overgrap, pretty thick, is about 3 grams, the single 10 inch tape your talking about would provably be half that, max 2 grams, not enough to be noticed by most people

but if your really concern about this, do what i did and pick up a letter scale at walmart, they are under $20, specially good if you have more then 1 similar racquets you play with and need to balance your racquets

I use hockey tape and any additional weight added is not apparent. While using head tape may add a gram or two to weight to the head gradually scraping away the bumper guard during play will reduce weight in the head also probably by an indiscernable amount.

When I use wilson or head tape, I do not notice a huge difference in weight, but I notice a huge difference in weight change for Gamma head tape. Wilson/Head tape doesn't protect the racquet as well as the Gamma tape, so its really up to your personal preference.

Yes I use it on the sides of the frame from 2 to 4 & 8 to 10 o'clock. This cuts down on the cosmetic nicks when the old knees don't quite allow me to get into position.
When a customer's frame needs a new bumper, I wile carefully use tape to "tide them over" until the next stringing,if they leave a deposit for the new head guard.

im currently using some grap tape thing. a huge roll of it is probably only $5 and it works great
its lined with string or thread or something, dunno what its meant to be used for but i stole it from the garage and put it on my racket head haha

Does that sound right or am I missing something? That's a big change in SW.

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I also use the Babolat. I put on 2 layers and overlap them by 2/3rds. That way it covers the entire beam and adds a bit or extra protection to the top of the head. Two layers is about 4-5 grams. This will definitely increase swingweight since it's basically being added at 12 o'clock (continuously from 10-2 o'clock)

We use Head Protection Tape(HPT) here and we try to get our customers to do the same, as it really protects the racquets bumperguard. Babolats Super tape is the thinnest and lightest, but it also wears the quickest. Gamma Guard is a cloth based tape so it's a little heavier and more durable. The tape adds approx 2-4g for a 12" length, so you can use the link to calc SW. I use 2 layers of tape as opposed to adding weight to the 10 and 2 positions on my racquet; 2 birds one(2)tape.

Our reasoning for suggesting the tape is that it's a lot cheaper to replace the tape than it is to replace the bumper and grommets. Even it you string a lot it's still cheaper with HPT. We have a customer here that uses a Wilson KFactor 90 and rips through his bumper in a matter of weeks. He was going through a grommet set a month. We got him to use a little HPT from Gamma and now he is saving a lot of money as he goes through 2 to 3 sets of grommets a year. Hope this helps.

If you're wearing out regular bumper guards, you're doing something wrong. I've never had to replace a bumper guard in my life, aside from the one on my racquet that I had when I was 9 (which I treated like trash.)

The bumper argument aside, all the tape really does is prevent scratching, which I believe is actually a bad thing. Scratching shoes signs of damage in a racquet, and when you sell a racquet in "like new" condition to someone that ends up cracking, I can't help but think that person was scammed.

I disagree. Head tape is enough to reduce the shock significantly, considering the normally high impulse of a racquet to court collision.

Sorry to necro, but this is a great thread. I have a question of my own: how does Unique's ad Wilson's head tape stack up against Gamma's? If I remember right, Unique's was rather thin but clothlike, while Wilson's was thicker but gooey and lasted longer.

I use Gamma Guard, which is virtually the same as gaffer's tape. I place it from 8 to 4 o'clock mostly to protect the grommets and guard for my POGOS which have or have not, depending on what I read, been discontinued.

Before I press the tape in place, I cut slits every few inches to try and avoid crimping around the curved edges. My rackets were both bought used with several nicks and scratches, so the tape tells me how many I put on myself. So far, only one.

...it affects your rackets weight and thus balance.
...it makes your racket less aerodynamic, especially when it gets torn up or
it covers Prince O-Ports.
...it's probaby more expensive to keep replacing than just getting a new
guard every now and then.
...it's definitely more annoying to keep replacing than just getting a new
guard every now and then.
...stringers hate that stuff.
...it's best to treat your racket like a peice of sports equipment as opposed
to protecting it like it's a work of art.
...it looks pretty amateurish.

You can always just cut it down the middle and put it on either side of the bumper, so you don't have to replace it as much, and you can still string it without removing the tape.
That's what I always do, I add 2 layers on so I won't have to replace, and my racket still stays at about 6-8 points headlight.

I use the Gamma from around 3 to 9 and I think it changes the weight noticeably; however, I have never measured it. I use it mainly because I'm anal and don't like tearing up my bumper and frame, pure and simple, no other reason. I've played tennis with some young bucks whose parents bought them the racquets and they bang them around, spike them and treat them like poo in general. Not my style, not when I'm shelling out the bucks to buy the crap. Treating my racquet well saves me money so I can blow it on my shoe fetish or whatever. Now that I have used head tape for so long, I can really tell the difference when I pull it off. I don't care for the wilson or the unique.